Personal computers and graphics workstations almost universally now run operating system software that include program interface functions that allow a user to define a desktop interface having a frame window that bounds a user work surface.
Three dimensional graphics rendering software has become a standard tool for use in composing, editing and displaying multimedia video presentations. This software is used in business presentations and videos as well as animated cartoons and commercial movies having thrilling special effects. In creating multimedia presentations, videos can be created from an analog source such as a videotape that is digitized, edited and then reconverted to analog tape form. The source for these presentations can also be digital data from a digital CD having images that are loaded into the computer memory and edited for subsequent presentation. As the capabilities of graphics rendering software have increased, the ability to create sophisticated multimedia presentations has been an incentive for a wide variety of users to become familiar with three dimensional graphics rendering software.
One commercially available software graphics rendering package is sold under the designation Photoshop. Purchasers of the Photoshop software may obtain addon software that adds to the capability of the software. These addons must adhere to an API standard. The addons are stored on the computer running Photoshop as a Dynamic Link Library (DLL) in a special folder reserved for these addons so that when Photoshop is launched this special folder is examined and the addons become available for use by the Photoshop user. The Photoshop software must include static `hooks` for calling the DLL that are written, compiled, and linked into the Photoshop software. One prior art computer program that has been written for use with Photoshop accepts input image data, processes or filters that data, and outputs a resulting set of data having a different appearance than the input image data.